Do you want to increase your water intake or help your kids or a friend kick the soda habit? Well, I can’t promise you weight loss, but the benefits of drinking water are real and if adding fruit to your water bottle will help you drink more, then by all means – Infuse Your Water And Boost Your Consumption.
orange, blueberries, and basil (left) lemon, and mint (right)
What is Infused Water?
Infused water is water that’s been steeped or soaked with fruits, vegetables, herbs and various combinations of these. For example: when you add slices of lemon to your water, the soluble properties (ex: vitamin C) are extracted and infuse your water. Sounds fancy, right? Everyone from TV Drs., to fitness gurus are promoting infused water for weight loss, detoxing and renewed energy. So….let’s take a look.
Is Infused Water Healthier?
Some articles have stated that 20 % of the fruit and vegetable nutrients can make their way into your water. No data was available to back that statement, and nothing mentioned about a fruit and water ratio. So let’s use lemons as an example because you hear a lot about lemon infused water. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 1/4 cup of raw lemon juice has 23.6 grams of vitamin C. This is more than 30 percent of the recommended daily allowance. Adding a slice of lemon to your water can make a big difference in the flavor, but the number of nutrients from that slice is minimal. So, if you’re wanting to add additional vitamin C to your diet, increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables high in C is the better way to go. If you’re looking to increase your water intake and flavoring water helps you accomplish this, then infusing with fruits and vegetables is perfect! You won’t have the excess calories, the artificial flavorings, and the sugar that can be part of the long list of ingredients on bottled waters and juices.
Can We Detox With Infused Water?
Our bodies naturally flush toxins and the liver and kidneys rely on the water in our bodies to help with this function. There’s no scientific evidence stating infused water helps the natural detoxing that occurs in our bodies. Adding certain combinations of fruits, vegetables, and herbs to our water, does not help this process. According to Cornell nutrition and chemistry professor, Thomas Brennan, “More water makes the body’s job of flushing toxins easier, but I can get that water from my tap.” You can read more about detox water here.
strawberries, kiwi, lime, and mint (left) lemon and rosemary (right)
Our Bodies Need Water!
Let’s review the benefits and the essential roles water plays in our God given bodies. In school, we learned that 60 % of our body is made up of water. Well, our brain and heart are composed of 73% water. That’s huge. If you are like me and anywhere near my age you’re thinking about brain and heart health. A lot. Just reading the list below makes me want to step up my water game and add a few more ounces during my day. How about you? Here is a list of major functions of water in our body. You can find more on the Mayo Clinic site.
- Moistens tissues in your mouth, eyes, and nose
- Regulates body temperature
- Lubricates joints
- Protects body organs and tissues
- Helps your kidneys and liver flush out waste products
- Helps dissolve minerals and other nutrients for absorption
- Carries nutrients and oxygen to cells
How Much Water Does Our Body Need?
We’ve all heard that eight glasses of water a day (8 X 8) is the recommendation, but there are many factors that play into the amounts of water our bodies really need. What my body needs is probably different from your body. Factors such as environment, age, work, sex, and levels of exercise, are all part of a long list of indicators that contribute to the level you should be striving for. The best thing is to listen to your body and know when your body is telling you that more water is needed. Dehydration is a serious condition and I’m including an article about its causes and effects for your review. Just click here.
Pampered Chef Infusion Water Bottle
Infuse Your Water and Boost Your Consumption
I’m hooked on drinking infused water, and it’s not because of any added nutrients that can make their way into my water. For me, it’s all about the added flavor and fresh taste. I’ve never been a huge water drinker and work out days are my best chance to consume a larger amount. I recently bought an Infusion Water Bottle by Pampered Chef, and I love it! It has a built in strainer that separates the fruit from the water, the size is perfect for the gym and fits in the bottle holder on my bike. Yes, I could just add my fruits and veggies to a glass of water, but this bottle is perfect for on the go.
So – what do you think? Are you a water drinker and if not, do you think to infuse it will help boost your intake? For some people drinking water comes naturally, for me not so much. I do know it’s great to have fresh herbs back in the yard and I’m looking forward to experimenting with all kinds of concoctions. Please consider leaving a comment about your water drinking habits and share your tips.
Thanks for stopping by, Rose
- Use the fruit and vegetables you have on hand and think about what your favorite tastes are.
- Fruits and Vegetables
- Apples, beets, blackberries, bell peppers, blueberries, cantaloupe, carrots, cherries, cucumber, grapefruit, grapes, kiwi, nectarines, oranges, peaches, plums raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, and watermelon
- Herbs and Spices
- Basil, cardamom, cilantro, cinnamon, cloves, ginger root, lavender, lemon verbena, lemongrass, mint, rosemary, thyme, parsley, rose petals, vanilla bean
- Suggested Combinations
- Cucumber + lime + strawberry
- Lemon + rosemary
- Lemon + Thyme
- Orange + blueberry + basil
- Lime + Ginger root + basil
- Orange + cinnamon + cloves
- Wash fruits and vegetables and rinse herbs to remove any pesticides and chemicals.
- Use cold or room temperature water.
- Hot water can cause the fruit to fall apart.
- For a container, any water pitcher or jar can be used.
- Softer fruits like strawberries and citrus can be sliced thick, thin or quartered. Thinly slice harder fruits like apples because they take longer to release flavors.
- Crush herbs like rosemary, lemongrass and ginger root to release flavors.
- Anything loose like lavender and rose petals can be placed in a tea infuser and added to your water.
- Infuse water at room temperature for about 2 hours and then refrigerate.
- I have combined fruits and herbs in jars and refrigerated immediately without straining. The taste the next day was perfect. I've also filled a jar with water and reused the fruit and herb, such as lemon and rosemary.
- Some fruits like strawberries and melons can look waterlogged after a few hours.
- Unpeeled citrus like oranges can make water taste bitter after about 4 hours.
- Infused water can be refrigerated up to 3 days. Depending on what type of fruits and vegetable used, strain before refrigeration. I did not strain before I refrigerated the waters used in this post and they were delicious the next day.
- Have fun creating your own combinations!
- Enjoy!